How is my (future) rig looking?


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I just wanted to make sure my future rig is alright, it's my first PC that's not store bought :blush:

I'll be mainly using it for gaming, but I will occasionally do work on it.

PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/QsnG

Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpick...nG/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://uk.pcpartpick...snG/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (?167.99 @ Aria PC)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (?24.99 @ Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (?119.98 @ Dabs)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (?87.99 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (?88.29 @ Amazon UK)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (?64.94 @ CCL Computers)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (?315.93 @ Amazon UK)

Case: NZXT Phantom (Black) ATX Full Tower Case (?109.99 @ Ebuyer)

Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (?84.54 @ Dabs)

Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer (?46.31 @ Aria PC)

Other: Microsoft Windows 8 64 bit OEM (?69.00)

Total: ?1179.95

I'll be using two Dell Ultrasharp U2412Ms with it.

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Looks great to me! After a quick inspection I don't think I would change anything other than possibly bumping the SSD up to a 256GB model, although that shift would be largely dependent on whether you'd be putting games on it or not. You can only fit so many on a 128GB drive (I say this based on experience :p).

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Your build looks good, but I always like the Asus motherboards now.

I would also suggest investing into this cpu cooler instead:

http://uk.pcpartpick...pu-cooler-nhd14

It cost more and is well worth it/has great ratings, but best of all it has the performance

Oh and go for Windows 7

7970s: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7970-overclock-review,3186.html

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'd probably have gone for a higher powered PSU for some headroom

The Corsair 2013 GS 700W Power Supplies are quite nice, around the same price as the TX650. A bit more wiggle room for power, easily enough for 2 graphics cards.

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I'd probably have gone for a higher powered PSU for some headroom

No reason whatsoever. 650W can sustain 7970 Crossfire, so there's your headroom. Corsair always underrates their mid and top tier and TX is a serious unit in itself.

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I'd highly highly recommend a modular PSU. You'll thank yourself for saving the nightmare that is left over wires.

And unless you plan on overclocking quite a bit, don't bother with a CPU cooler. If you do want one, I'd recommend a Corsair Hydro since it will make your rig much quieter.

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So i've ordered all the parts, just waiting for my case to arrive. I decided to go for a better PSU in the end (Corsair TX750M).

Amazon Prime has been awesome, I'd certainly recommend it to anyone who orders online.

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For that same money you could have chosen HX650 instead - more "modular" and also actually better (Seasonic vs CWT), with several percent higher efficiency. But well - "moar horsepwrrr" it is then.

<-- Chairman and the only member of Quality Not Overkill PSU committee

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So i've built it now (After many hours of blood, sweat and tears), I even made two small blood sacrifices to the PC Gods.

.

Only problem is though that my 7970 isn't being detected by Windows? Not really sure what to do.

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I've ran them and it still doesn't work. My monitor doesn't even get an image from the graphics card when connected through DVI

Probably not seated right...

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Is it seated correctly?

Have you connected all the necessary PSU wires into the top of it?

Are you getting a POST beep code?

Is it spinning up at all?

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And have you enabled it? Might be trying to use your integrated solution instead of your PCIE.

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IF you go to the device manager - Can you see it?

YES:

Using integrated graphics card run install of DVD and when asked to restart insure that HDMI cable is plugged into Radeon BEFORE windows loads.

NO:

Needs to be re-seated or has become damaged. - Are the fans spinning?

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<-- Chairman and the only member of Quality Not Overkill PSU committee

Can I join. I've found so many people think having a kilowatt power supply means EPIC POWAH. But if it's a crap unit you'll have worse performance that a well designed PSU that is a fraction of the watts.

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Well darn, I managed to sort it out, it appears that i'm the only person in the world stupid enough to forget to plug in the power for the graphics card :blush:

Anyways, the build is awesome, it boots in around 5 seconds and shuts down in less.

I get around 200fps average in Arkham Asylum maxed out at 1200p.

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Well darn, I managed to sort it out, it appears that i'm the only person in the world stupid enough to forget to plug in the power for the graphics card :blush:

Far from it, I've forgotten to do it on at least two of my last three graphics card upgrades :p

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